According to figures from the book “Let's Get Real or Let's Not Play” by Mahan
Khalsa and Randy Illig, 80% of lost sales opportunities are the result of
either poor qualification or lack of an effective sales process. The book has
great insights for anyone involved in selling high-value products or services
with a lengthy sales cycle; however the basic principles of good qualification apply
to any sales process.
The authors of the book suggest 5 questions that should be answered before any opportunity can be regarded as qualified.
You might be surprised to find how many of the opportunities in your own sales pipeline don’t have satisfactory answers to all of them, we suggest you to ask them at your next sales meeting. It’s better to know now that an opportunity has a low chance of success rather than at the end of a long, expensive and ultimately unsuccessful sales cycle.
1: Have you uncovered the real issues?
What are the problems is the prospect trying to address - or what results are they trying to achieve? And how would they prioritise these issues against all the other things they are aiming to accomplish? If you don’t know what your prospect is trying to achieve - in their language, and in their terms - you have a slim chance of selling them a solution.
2: Where’s the evidence?
How does the prospect define the problem and how would they describe the symptoms? How would they measure the success of any attempt to address the issues they have identified? If you haven’t been able to identify the evidence that the issue is real and deeply felt then your case for change is going to be weak.
3: What’s the Impact?
What would happen if the issue wasn’t addressed or if any potential solution postponed? How painful would it be if the status quo were allowed to continue? What would be the consequences of a failure to address the issue? If your prospect believes they can get away with sticking with what they’re doing now, and avoid the need for change, they probably will.
4: Who else is affected?
In addition to the contacts you have already established, who else within their organisation is affected by the issues they have identified, or would be affected if the issue wasn’t addressed? How will they evaluate any potential solution and what role would they play in the decision-making process? If you haven’t identified the other stakeholders, you’re unlikely to be able to address their concerns or to rely on their support.
5: What’s holding them back?
Assuming you’ve got encouraging answers to the first four questions, you still need to answer the following before you can call the opportunity properly qualified: Why is it important that the organisation addresses the issue now? Have they tried to address the issue before? What were the results? What’s been holding them back - and what’s changed? And what are the constraints that might prevent them implementing a solution now?
Top performers are probably asking these questions today - the best sales people qualify the hardest because they don’t want to waste time on unproductive opportunities.
Uncovering the answers to all five of these questions will help qualify a bad deal out early, the result will be shorter sales cycles, higher win rates, and increased profits.
The authors of the book suggest 5 questions that should be answered before any opportunity can be regarded as qualified.
You might be surprised to find how many of the opportunities in your own sales pipeline don’t have satisfactory answers to all of them, we suggest you to ask them at your next sales meeting. It’s better to know now that an opportunity has a low chance of success rather than at the end of a long, expensive and ultimately unsuccessful sales cycle.
1: Have you uncovered the real issues?
What are the problems is the prospect trying to address - or what results are they trying to achieve? And how would they prioritise these issues against all the other things they are aiming to accomplish? If you don’t know what your prospect is trying to achieve - in their language, and in their terms - you have a slim chance of selling them a solution.
2: Where’s the evidence?
How does the prospect define the problem and how would they describe the symptoms? How would they measure the success of any attempt to address the issues they have identified? If you haven’t been able to identify the evidence that the issue is real and deeply felt then your case for change is going to be weak.
3: What’s the Impact?
What would happen if the issue wasn’t addressed or if any potential solution postponed? How painful would it be if the status quo were allowed to continue? What would be the consequences of a failure to address the issue? If your prospect believes they can get away with sticking with what they’re doing now, and avoid the need for change, they probably will.
4: Who else is affected?
In addition to the contacts you have already established, who else within their organisation is affected by the issues they have identified, or would be affected if the issue wasn’t addressed? How will they evaluate any potential solution and what role would they play in the decision-making process? If you haven’t identified the other stakeholders, you’re unlikely to be able to address their concerns or to rely on their support.
5: What’s holding them back?
Assuming you’ve got encouraging answers to the first four questions, you still need to answer the following before you can call the opportunity properly qualified: Why is it important that the organisation addresses the issue now? Have they tried to address the issue before? What were the results? What’s been holding them back - and what’s changed? And what are the constraints that might prevent them implementing a solution now?
Top performers are probably asking these questions today - the best sales people qualify the hardest because they don’t want to waste time on unproductive opportunities.
Uncovering the answers to all five of these questions will help qualify a bad deal out early, the result will be shorter sales cycles, higher win rates, and increased profits.
For more ideas on running great sales meetings click this link.
